Israel’s flag is flying at Woollahra Council
Woollahra Council Council in Sydney’s Eastern Suburbs is home to a large section of the city’s Jewish community and will fly the Israeli flag for at least a week.
Woollahra Mayor Richard Shields and Councillor Isabelle Shapiro
In addressing the council, Mayor Richard Shields said: “This past Saturday’s early morning attack on Israel during a major Jewish holiday by the terrorist operatives of Hamas, included missile strikes, fighter incursions and kidnappings and has resulted in the death and injury of innocent civilians and Israeli soldiers. At the time of writing this Mayoral Minute, it has been reported that 700 Israelis have been killed, over 2,200 injured and that a significant number of civilians and soldiers kidnapped .
It is understood that over 4,000 rockets have been launched by Hamas in Gaza toward Israel since early Saturday morning; with over twenty communities in southern Israel invaded by Hamas terrorist operatives, with Israeli civilians and soldiers kidnapped and taken hostage into Gaza.
I call on my Council colleagues to support the condemnation of these deadly attacks and to join me in recognising and supporting Israel’s right to defend itself and to protect its civilians.
Our thoughts and prayers are with those who have been killed, injured and taken from their loved ones. With such a significant number of our local Woollahra community being of Jewish faith, with immediate and distant relatives in Israel, I am devastated to think of the impact this attack has had and will continue to have on them.
I have already been in contact with State and Federal Colleagues and local community and faith leaders here in Sydney and Woollahra to express my condolences.”
He added: “It is my intent to write to the people included in this Mayoral Minute, to outline Woollahra Council’s formal condemnation of the attack on Israel. I will also be writing to local faith and community leaders here in Woollahra and broader Sydney to communicate our condolences, our condemnation of the attack and our offer of support to affected local community members and the people of Israel as they recover from this devastating attack.”
Among those to whom he will write are Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and local Federal member Allegra Spender.
